'
Johnson told me, with an amiable fondness, a little pleasing
circumstance relative to this work. Mrs. Johnson, in whose judgement and
taste he had great confidence, said to him, after a few numbers of The
Rambler had come out, 'I thought very well of you before; but I did not
imagine you could have written any thing equal to this.' Distant praise,
from whatever quarter, is not so delightful as that of a wife whom a
man loves and esteems. Her approbation may be said to 'come home to his
bosom;' and being so near, its effect is most sensible and permanent.
Mr. James Elphinston, who has since published various works, and who
was ever esteemed by Johnson as a worthy man, happened to be in Scotland
while The Rambler was coming out in single papers at London. With a
laudable zeal at once for the improvement of his countrymen, and the
reputation of his friend, he suggested and took the charge of an edition
of those Essays at Edinburgh, which followed progressively the London
publication.
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